8 Apr 2016

Vivek Agnihotri’s latest movie, Buddha in a Traffic Jam, aims to expose the nexus between NGOs, naxalites and the academia.

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri moves from highlighting the erotic to the more political with his latest that takes on student activists for their ‘critical and questioning’ approach

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has directed five feature films till date but these days he is better known for the YouTube video of his March 18 speech at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

He was at the campus, along with actor Anupam Kher and filmmaker Ashoke Pandit, to screen his latest film Buddha in a Traffic Jam. This venture, unlike his earlier ones — Chocolate (2005), Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal (2007), Hate Story (2012), Zid(2014) — is based on a political subject.

Good-looking Karan Singh Grover and Bipasha Basu, who have been rumoured to be dating since a long time, have finally decided to take their relationship to the next level. The duo confirmed about their marriage in an official statement. Soon after the official confirmation, pictures of their wedding invite have started doing the rounds on social media. The couple is looking amazing together in the pictures and it also says - 'much monkey love' because Bipasha refers to Karan as her monkey.

Recommended blood serum levels of vitamin D have been a source of vigorous debate in recent years. (Representational Image)

LOS ANGELES: Higher levels of vitamin D in our blood is associated with a reduced risk of cancer, a new study has found.

"We have quantitated the ability of adequate amounts of vitamin D to prevent all types of invasive cancer combined, which had been terra incognita until publication of this paper," said Cedric Garland, professor at the University of California, San Diego.

The aim is to save them from type II diabetes - the biggest concern of health experts across the world. Armed with a new multi-centric study initiated by KGMU's department of physiology, the doctors are telling men to shed the extra pounds or run the risk of infertility.

Sharing that "one in three Indians is at risk," experts suggest use of "Indian Diabetes Risk Score" self-assessment (see gfx)

NEW DELHI: The film on Rudyard Kipling's much-loved 'Jungle Book', which re- leases in India on April 8, has been given a U/A certificate by the Censor Board for being too "scary".

The Central Board of Film Certification's (CBFC) examining panel felt that the 3D graphics and sound effects were too "scary" for young children. U/A certification means parental guidance is required for children under 12 to watch the movie.

Incidentally, the Jon Favreau film has received a "parental guidance", or PG, rating in the United States.

Hyderabad, April 7 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh is all set to introduce rotavirus vaccine to combat diarrhoeal deaths among children, an official said on Thursday.

The state has received 460,000 doses of rotavac, the country's first indigenous rotavirus vaccine.

Addressing a media orientation workshop organized by the state government and UNICEF ahead of the launch, Vanisri Saride, joint director, child health and immunisation, said the vaccine will soon become a part of the state government's Universal Immunisation Programme and health staff in districts had been imparted training for implementation of the programme.

5 Apr 2016

The Government is focusing on a multipronged strategy to ensure increased electricity access and demand, said Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy. Shri Goyal was speaking at the session, “Energising India through Global Partnerships” at the CII Annual Session 2016 here today. Shri Goyal said that the overall strategy includes a focus on enhancing energy efficiency, thrust on renewable energy and ensuring sustainable growth, added the Minister. “Our first priority is reaching power to the poorest of the poor in the country and I am fairly confident of bringing electricity to all villages by next year. We intend to reach every home in the country by 2019,” Shri Goyal stressed.

On lowering industrial tariffs, Shri Goyal said that the effort is to address inefficiencies. UDAY, the power sector reform, is expected to result in savings of Rs180,000 crore annually from 2019. These savings would provide headroom to bring down tariffs.

Listing out nine achievements of year 2015-16, Shri Goyal said 7,108 villages have been electrified out of 18,452 un-electrified villages against the target of 2,800; distribution of more than 9 crore LED bulbs by EESL thereby achieving 150% growth ; addition of highest ever 3,200 MW of wind power capacity; 24,171 MW conventional power addition; Power Grid Corporation commissioned projects of more than Rs 30,000 crore accomplishing annual growth of 39% ; Initiation of transmission bids worth Rs. 1 lakh crore was also done in span of one year. Shri Goyal reiterated, “Country has become coal surplus. We had done the highest ever coal production of 42 mt in single year. In two years , we had added about 74 mt tonnes of coal production. Coal India produced 536.5 million tonnes of coal recording 8.6% growth rate, highest ever since 1988. Solar projects worth more than 21 GW bid out were also bid out during the year.”

Shri Goyal said, “We will focus on increasing electricity demand, developing hydro power and intrastate transmission. Also there is a need to build enough redundancy in the system to address breakdowns.” Shri Goyal stressed that public-private partnerships are central to the power sector. He expressed confidence that India would meet the target of 20,000 MW of solar power by 2017 and the 100 gigawatts target of renewable energy by 2022.

Regarding international cooperation for global competiveness and technology, Mr Goyal stated that dialogue with several countries including the US, Japan and Australia have moved from a Government to Government dialogue to a Government to business interface. The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is a key initiative launched by India to seek cooperation at a global level.

Shri Goyal said that we are working on creating simply, reliable and friendly regulatory framework for the industrial fraternity because ultimately entrepreneurs will lead India into the path of development.

Birth Anniversary of Babu Jagjivan Ram, the veteran leader of the country, is being celebrated today as Samta Diwas by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. On the occasion a prayer meeting was held at the Samadhi of Babu Jagjivan Ram and tributes were paid.

Vice President of India, Mohammad Hamid Ansari led the nation in paying tributes, Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, MoS, (IC), Labour & Employment, Shri Vijay Sampla, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment and dignitaries from various walks of life visited Samta sthal and paid their tributes to Babu Jagjivan Ram.

The Government has released today Rs. 25,834 crore to FCI as Food Subsidy. In addition to this, wage and means advance of Rs. 10,000 crore will be released shortly.

FCI is also raising short term loans from banks upto a maximum limit of Rs. 30,000 crore. Recourse to these loans will be made by FCI as and when required.

Taken together these funds, there will be sufficient resources to manage Rabi procurement which has just started.

In 2015-16, original Food Subsidy allocation was Rs. 97,000 crore which was increased to Rs. 1,12,000 crore at RE stage. This helped to bring down the arrears of subsidy to Rs. 58,650 crore. During 2016-17 also the Government may consider additional food subsidy over and above budgetary provision, if required, towards the end of financial year to further bring down the subsidy arrears.

An all women high altitude trek to Pindari Glacier was organized by the Indian Navy from 24 Mar – 02 Apr 16 with an aim to introduce the women officers to the extreme adventure sport of mountaineering. Accordingly, the trek was planned at the beginning of the trekking season to add the elements of thrill and chill. The team led by Cdr Priya Khurana comprised 24 women officers.

The event, flagged off from New Delhi on 22 Mar 16 by VAdm AR Karve, AVSM, Chief of Personnel reached Loharkhet on 26 Mar 16 from where they commenced their high altitude trek to Pindari Glacier through Dhakuri, Khati and Dwali. The team reached the Pindari Glacier zero point (3353 mtrs) on 30 Mar 16.

The team had to face treacherous terrain of gravel and boulders and snow blocks thereby making personnel movement a difficult task. A total of six landslide zones were encountered enroute. The original trek route has been damaged in 2013 owing to natural calamity in Uttarakhand and hence the team opened an alternate route along the Pindari river to reach its destination. The team started its descent on 30 Mar and reached back at Loharkhet on 31 Mar and in Delhi on 02 Apr 16, thereby successfully completing the trek. The services of Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd (KMVNL), Govt of Uttarakhand were hired to provide logistics and administrative support.

There has been a paradigm shift and family planning has now emerged as a key strategy to reduce maternal and child mortalities and morbidities”. This was stated by Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare during his inaugural address at the two-day National Summit on Family Planning, here today.

The Union Health Minister launched the new revamped logo for Family Planning media awareness campaign along with the 360 degree communication plan for enhanced awareness regarding various issues surrounding family planning in the country. Highlighting the importance of communication in addressing such issues, he noted that a comprehensive strategy has been worked out where maternal and child health and wellbeing have been placed at the centrepoint of the new approach, Shri Nadda pointed out. Shri Amitabh Bachchan is the brand ambassador and anchor for the new communication approach. The IEC package has several TV and radio spots which focus on the role of various stakeholders such as the mother, father, mother-in-law, husband and other in the families as well as the role of community health workers, doctors, nurses, ANMs and ASHAs to educate and inform regarding the available choices. The promotion of family planning – and ensuring access to preferred contraceptive methods for women and couples – is essential for securing the well-being and autonomy of women, while supporting the health and development of communities, Shri Nadda stated.

The Health Minister also launched the new packaging of contraceptive Nirodh with a view to increase its uptake and use. He said “As a part of our continued efforts to offer Indian women a broader basket of choice, a method mix of contraceptives - Injectables, Centchroman and POPs - have now been introduced into the public health system under the National Family Planning program. The improved access to contraceptives will address all the development dimensions, he informed. Highlighting the importance of linkages and involvement of the private sector, Shri Nadda said that the Ministry will work closely through the private sector engagement using approaches such as social marketing and franchising to build strong public-private partnerships to ensure that the interventions reach everyone.

Noting that Family Planning is a key development imperative, Shri Nadda said that Family planning reinforces people’s rights to determine the number and spacing of their children. The freedom to personally determine the timing of a pregnancy strengthens above all the position of women in society. It helps reduce child mortality and improve maternal health, because many pregnancies in quick succession put mother and child at risk.

The Union Health Minister also stated the new strategic approach emphasizes continuum of care and integrated action, and Family Planning has now been put in the centre-stage as a major pillar of our RMNCH+A strategy to improve survival and health of women and children with special focus on delaying the first birth and spacing between births. The Health Minister highlighted the centrality of issues such a social and cultural practices, low literacy, poverty and lack of timely access to appropriate healthcare facilities. “We know that Child survival, maternal health, increasing age at marriage, postponing the birth of the first child, increasing birth intervals, women's empowerment and employment, literacy and antipoverty efforts are important determinants for stabilizing the population”, Shri Nadda stated. Hence increasing access to family planning services can have a transformative effect on everything from poverty reduction to climate change – in short all aspects that matter for our nation.

The Health Minister informed that India has made notable progress in several health indicators. Considering that 45% of the maternal deaths occur in the age group 15 to 25 years where 52% of the total fertility is also clustered, we are moving from limiting to delaying and spacing for wider health benefits, he noted. There has been a sharp decline in decadal growth rate from 21.54 percent in 1990-2000 to 17.64 percent during 2001-11, the Health Minister added. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has also come down from 6 in 1951 to 2.3 in 2013, and 24 states/UTs have achieved the replacement level fertility of 2.1 or less.

Shri Nadda also awarded States for their contribution towards the Family Planning efforts of the country. TAMIL NADU was awarded for its exemplary contribution in Post-partum Sterilization, MADHYA PRADESH for it contribution in PPIUCD, BIHAR for its contribution on Female Sterilization and HIMACHAL PRADESH for exemplary contribution in Male Sterilization. The Health Minister also launched the Techno-Managerial guidelines for injectable contraceptives at the Summit, along with a Mobile app for Mission Indradhanush.

Also present at the function were Shri B P sharma, Secretary (HFW); Shri C K Mishra, AS&MD; Dr. Rakesh Kumar, JS (RCH, IEC) and other senior officers of the Ministry and representatives of development partners.

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the National Geoscience Awards - 2014today (April 5, 2016) at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that availability and use of minerals in any country has been one of the factors determining self-sufficiency of its economy. These natural resources have to be explored, extracted, refined and processed to use them for national building. At the same time, we must understand that sustenance of mankind depends only on environmentally sustainable mining practices. Our effort to use our natural resources should be informed by the dangers of natural and manmade disasters. He stated that he was happy to note that the Geoscientists of the country are working hard to meet these challenges. The diverse fields work of the awardees are testimony to this inherent spread of the geoscientific developments in the country.

The President said that the exploration of mineral resources in the country requires a greater thrust with an even greater caution. As the search for the near surface deposits have reached a point of saturation, the geoscientists of the country now face the crucial challenge of finding deep seated and concealed mineral resources. There is a need to focus on exploration of the offshore mineral resources which hold enormous potential of supplementing the increasing needs of the society. Similarly, it is also important to find strategic and rare earth elements to support Space and Information Technology Missions of the Nation to ensure self-reliance of the Nation in these fields. However, all of this needs to be accomplished with the environmental sustainability concern in mind.

The National Geoscience Awards, previously known as the National Mineral Awards, was instituted by the Ministry of Mines in 1966, to honour individuals and teams of scientists for their extraordinary achievements and outstanding contributions in fundamental and applied geosciences and mining and allied fields.

Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Steel & Mines and Shri Vishnu Deo Sai, Minister of State for Steel & Mines.

With the aim to support two major initiatives of the Government i.e. “Make in India” and “Skill India” and to align to skill standards which are recognized globally, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Rajeev Pratap Rudy here today announced the launch of “Transnational Skill Standards” in India. These standards in skill development are benchmarked to United Kingdom across 82 identified job roles. British High Commissioner to India Sir Dominic Asquith KCMG and Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Shri Rohit Nandan along with several stakeholders were present on the occasion.

In his inaugural address, Shri Rudy said that standardisation of vocational education is crucial in bringing about a level in the efficiency of the skilled workforce. He said, it is government’s endeavour to benchmark the standards so as to support international mobility of Indian workforce and also prepare them to work in international companies having their operations in the country. He said, his Ministry has chosen UK standards to benchmark Indian Skills standards since all the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries recognize UK skill certification.

British High Commissioner to India Sir Dominic Asquith KCMG said that India and UK have been collaborating on skill development since a long time now and this is yet another effort to bring more quality in vocational education which will open more avenues for employment across countries for the youth.

During the event two MoUs were signed between NSDC and Association of Colleges (UK) and NSDC and UK Awarding Organization City & Guilds and Pearsons Education. These MoUs were signed to enable sharing of best practice, staff exchange and development of new models to increase employer engagement and investment in skills.

Some of the other emerging partnerships in this area are: • To support international mobility of Indian workforce, 15 Indian Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) have benchmarked standards of 82 job Roles with the standards of 11 UK SSCs.

• The Transnational Standards will highlight the gaps in Indian Standards against the UK standards. To cover the gaps, those intending to migrate, will undergo ‘bridge training’. The Further Education Colleges (FE) of the United Kingdom will partner with Indian Training Providers to impart training on bridge courses. FE Colleges to set up Skill Academies of Excellences in the identified sectors in India.

• Further the UK Awarding organization, such as City & Guilds and Pearsons, in association with Indian SSCs will certify the trainees on the gap.

The key highlight of this partnership is recognition of the Indian SSC Assessment and Certification by the UK Awarding bodies. Those interested to migrate will simply have to take “bridge training” on the gap identified in the benchmarking process and get assessed on the components of the “bridge training”. Thus just by doing “bridge training” and getting assessed and certified on it, will lead to award of UK IVQ which has a global acceptance including Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, today launched the Low Cost and Environment-friendly solar lighting device, which would prove to be a boon for the urban and rural households in the country that do not have reliable access to electricity. The device has been developed under the aegis of the Department of Science & Technology.

Describing the salient features of the device, the Minister said that the potential users of this device are10 million households. He further said that according to preliminary estimates, if this technology is adopted in 10 million households only, it has the potential of saving 1750 million units of energy. It would also lead to an emission reduction of about 12.5 million ton of CO2equivalent, hence giving a fillip to the mission of ‘Clean India, Green India’. The manufacturing process, being labour-intensive, would also generate huge job opportunities in the economy.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, while explaining the working of the device, said that the Micro Solar Dome captures sunlight through a transparent semi-spherical upper dome and concentrates it inside a dark room. The light passes through a sun-tube having a thin layer of highly reflective coating on the inner wall of the passage. It also contains a lower dome having a shutter at the bottom that can be closed if light is not required in the daytime. It is leak proof and works for almost 16 hours daily i.e. throughout the day and 4 hours after sunset.

The Minister said that the Photo-Voltaic Integrated Micro Solar Dome costs about Rs.1200 and the Non Photo-Voltaic version around Rs. 500. These cost figures are expected to get further reduced to Rs.900and Rs.400 respectively post the scaling-up of the manufacturing process and future linkages with the subsidies under various schemes of the Ministries of Urban Development, Rural Development and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

The Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Y.S. Choudhary said that this technology would lead to the saving of fossil fuels to a great extent as 1 unit of energy saved is equivalent to 3 units of energy generated. He envisaged the corporate sector to play its role under their Corporate Social Responsibilities Schemes for the manufacturing process to scale up. He said that incubation centres are being brought up under the ‘Start up India, Stand up India’ programme which would encourage entrepreneurship in the solar sector to make commercialization of the device viable.

According to a TERI University test report, the illumination level of the light during mid-day goes as high as a 15W LED bulb. Extensive Testing of the device for select parameters has been completed at IIT Bombay, TERI University and Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), Kolkata. Field trials have been conducted and 300 Micro Solar Domes are being installed in the slums of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru.

The Public Sector Day is being organised on next Monday i.e. 11th April, 2016. The main function will be held at Vigyan, Bhawan, New Delhi where President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee will address the Chief Executives of Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs). On this occasion, he will also present SCOPE Excellence Awards to the PSEs.

Every year, the Public Sector Day is jointly organized by Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) and Department of Public Enterprises (DPE).

The function is a part of Week long Public Sector day celebrations beginning from 10th April to 16th April 2016 wherein entire Public Sector fraternity throughout the country and abroad will hold seminars, conferences, quiz competitions, talk by eminent persons, and cultural programmes.

The water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country for the week ending on March 31, 2016 was 39.651 BCM which is 25%of total storage capacity of these reservoirs. This was 69% of the storage of corresponding period of last year and 75% of storage of average of last ten years.

The total storage capacity of these 91 reservoirs is 157.799 BCMwhich is about 62% of the total storage capacity of 253.388 BCM which is estimated to have been created in the country. 37 Reservoirs out of these 91, have hydropower benefit with installed capacity of more than 60 MW.

REGION WISE STORAGE STATUS:-

NORTHERN REGION

The northern region includes States of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. There are 6 reservoirs under CWC monitoring having total live storage capacity of 18.01 BCM.The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 4.48 BCM which is 25% of total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. The storage during corresponding period of last year was 32% and average storage of last ten years during corresponding period was 30% of live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Thus, storage during current year is less than the corresponding period of last year and is also less than the average storage of last ten years during the corresponding period.

EASTERN REGION

The Eastern region includes States of Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Tripura. There are 15 reservoirs under CWC monitoring having total live storage capacity of 18.83 BCM.The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 7.15 BCM which is 38% of total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. The storage during corresponding period of last year was 49% and average storage of last ten years during corresponding period was 42% of live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Thus, storage during current year is less than the corresponding period of last year and is also less than the average storage of last ten years during the corresponding period.

WESTERN REGION

The Western region includes States of Gujarat and Maharashtra. There are 27 reservoirs under CWC monitoring having total live storage capacity of 27.07 BCM. The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 5.82 BCM which is 21% of total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. The storage during corresponding period of last year was 40% and average storage of last ten years during corresponding period was 44% of live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Thus, storage during current year is less than the storage of last year and is also less than the average storage of last ten years during the corresponding period.

CENTRAL REGION

The Central region includes States of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. There are 12 reservoirs under CWC monitoring having total live storage capacity of 42.30 BCM. The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 13.58 BCM which is 32% of total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. The storage during corresponding period of last year was 42% and average storage of last ten years during corresponding period was 30% of live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Thus, storage during current year is less than the storage of last year but is better than the average storage of last ten years during the corresponding period.

SOUTHERN REGION

The Southern region includes States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, AP&TG (Two combined projects in both states) Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. There are 31 reservoirs under CWC monitoring having total live storage capacity of 51.59 BCM.The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 8.62 BCM which is 17% of total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. The storage during corresponding period of last year was 26% and average storage of last ten years during corresponding period was 29% of live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Thus, storage during current year is less than the corresponding period of last year and is also less than the average storage of last ten years during the corresponding period.

States having better storage than last year for corresponding period are Andhra Pradesh and Tripura. States having lesser storage than last year for corresponding period are Himachal Pradesh, AP&TG (Two combined project in both states), Punjab, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.

“I am very happy and congratulate the Director Dr Giridhar Kinhal and his team at Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal which has been ranked at Number 8 amongst the management institutions in the India Rankings 2016 released by Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India”, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar said here today.

The IIFM, Bhopal has done extremely well on all parameters related to “Graduation Outcome”, “Outreach and Inclusivity” and “Perception” among the general public. The IIFM, Bhopal is the only Management Institute of central ministries, other than Ministry of HRD, that figures in the top 10 management institutions in the country.

Shri Javadekar said that IIFM, Bhopal, has achieved real success through their programmes. Earlier performance of institutions were based on only placements, but now Ministry of Human Resource Development has developed a comprehensive evaluation system with five main parameters and 17 sub-parameters, major parameters being Faculty Student Ratio; Metric for Faculty with Ph.D and Experience; Metric for Library, Studio & Laboratory Facilities; Metric for Sports and Extra Curricular Facilities; Research, Professional and Collaborative Performance; Combined Metric for Publications; combined Metric for Citations; Intellectual Property Right and Patents; Collaborative Publications and Patents; Footprint of Projects and Professional Practice, etc.

The Minister said that there are many other research and training institutes under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. “We are determined to improve the quality and performance of all these institutes for which we are undertaking academic, research and management audit of all the institutes under the Ministry”, he said.

The Environment Ministry has revised Solid Waste Management Rules after 16 years. Addressing a press conference to announce the revised Rules here today, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar said that the Rules are now applicable beyond municipal areas and will extend to urban agglomerations, census towns, notified industrial townships, areas under the control of Indian Railways, airports, airbase, port and harbour, defence establishments, special economic zones, State and Central government organizations, places of pilgrims, religious & historical importance.

He pointed out that 62 million tonnes of waste is generated annually in the country at present, out of which 5.6 million tonnes is plastic waste, 0.17 million tonnes is biomedical waste, hazardous waste generation is 7.90 million tonnes per annum and 15 lakh tonne is e-waste. He added that the per capita waste generation in Indian cities ranges from 200 grams to 600 grams per day. Shri Javadekar underlined the fact that 43 million TPA is collected, 11.9 million is treated and 31 million is dumped in landfill sites, which means that only about 75-80% of the municipal waste gets collected and only 22-28 % of this waste is processed and treated. “Waste generation will increase from 62 million tonnes to about165 million tonnes in 2030”, Shri Javadekar said.

The Minister said that the responsibility of generators has been introduced to segregate waste into three categories – Wet, Dry and Hazardous Waste. He added thatthe generator will have to pay ‘User Fee’ to the waste collector and a ‘Spot Fine’ for littering and non-segregation, the quantum of which will be decided by the local bodies. Shri Javadekar emphasized that the government is keen on the integration of ragpickers from the informal sector to the formal sector. The Environment Minister also highlighted that in case of hilly areas, land for construction of sanitary landfills in the hilly areas will be identified in the plain areas, within 25 kilometers.

Shri Javadekar stated thatwaste processing facilities will have to be set up by all local bodies having 1 million or more population within two years. In case of census towns below 1 million population, setting up common, or stand-alone sanitary landfills by, or for all local bodies having 0.5 million or more population and for setting up common, or regional sanitary landfills by all local bodies and census towns under 0.5 million population will have to be completed in three years.

The Government has also constituted a Central Monitoring Committee under the chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to monitor the overall implementation of the Rules. The Committee comprises the Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Ministry of Agriculture, Central Pollution Control Board, three State Pollution Control Boards /Pollution Control Committees, Urban Development Departments of three State Governments, rural development departments from two State Governments, three urban local bodies, two census towns, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and two subject experts. The Committee will meet once an year to monitor the implementation of these Rules.

(I) Some of the salient features of SWM Rules, 2016 include:-

1. The Rules are now applicablebeyond Municipal areas and extend to urban agglomerations, census towns, notified industrial townships, areas under the control of Indian Railways, airports, airbase, Port and harbour, defence establishments, special economic zones, State and Central government organizations, places of pilgrims, religious & historical importance.

2. The source segregation of waste has been mandated to channelize the waste to wealth by recovery, reuse and recycle.

4. Integration of waste pickers/ ragpickers and waste dealers/ Kabadiwalas in the formal system should be done by State Governments, and Self Help Group, or any other group to be formed.

5. No person should throw, burn, or bury the solid waste generated by him, on streets, open public spaces outside his premises, or in the drain, or water bodies.

6. Generator will have to pay‘User Fee’ to waste collector and for ‘Spot Fine’ for Littering and Non-segregation.

7. Used sanitary waste like diapers, sanitary pads should be wrapped securely in pouches provided by manufacturers or brand owners of these products or in a suitable wrapping material and shall place the same in the bin meant for dry waste / non- bio-degradable waste.

8. The concept of partnership in Swachh Bharat has been introduced. Bulk and institutional generators, market associations, event organizers and hotels and restaurants have been made directly responsible for segregation and sorting the waste and manage in partnership with local bodies.

9. All hotels and restaurants should segregate biodegradable waste and set up a system of collection or follow the system of collection set up by local body to ensure that such food waste is utilized for composting / biomethanation.

10. All Resident Welfare and market Associations, Gated communities and institution with an area >5,000 sq. m should segregate waste at source- in to valuable dry waste like plastic, tin, glass, paper, etc. and handover recyclable material to either the authorized waste pickers or the authorized recyclers, or to the urban local body.

11. The bio-degradable waste should be processed, treated and disposed of through composting or bio-methanation within the premises as far as possible. The residual waste shall be given to the waste collectors or agency as directed by the local authority.

12. New townships and Group Housing Societies have been made responsible to develop in-house waste handling, and processing arrangements for bio-degradable waste.

13. Every street vendor should keep suitable containers for storage of waste generated during the course of his activity such as food waste, disposable plates, cups, cans, wrappers, coconut shells, leftover food, vegetables, fruits etc. and deposit such waste at waste storage depot or container or vehicle as notified by the local authority.

14. The developers of Special Economic Zone, industrial estate, industrial park to earmark at least 5% of the total area of the plot or minimum 5 plots/ sheds for recovery and recycling facility.

15. All manufacturers of disposable products such as tin, glass, plastics packaging etc. or brand owners who introduce such products in the market shall provide necessary financial assistance to local authorities for the establishment of waste management system.

16. All such brand owners who sale or market their products in such packaging material which are non-biodegradable should put in place a system to collect back the packaging waste generated due to their production.

17. Manufacturers or Brand Owners or marketing companies of sanitary napkins and diapers should explore the possibility of using all recyclable materials in their products or they shall provide a pouch or wrapper for disposal of each napkin or diapers along with the packet of their sanitary products.

18. All such manufacturers, brand owners or marketing companies should educate the masses for wrapping and disposal of their products.

19. All industrial units using fuel and located within 100 km from a solid waste based RDF plant shall make arrangements within six months from the date of notification of these rules to replace at least 5 % of their fuel requirement by RDF so produced.

20. Non-recyclable waste having calorific value of 1500 K/cal/kg or more shall not be disposed of on landfills and shall only be utilized for generating energy either or through refuse derived fuel or by giving away as feed stock for preparing refuse derived fuel.

21. High calorific wastes shall be used for co-processing in cement or thermal power plants.

22. Construction and demolition waste should be stored, separately disposed off, as per the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016

23. Horticulture waste and garden waste generated from his premises should be disposed as per the directions of local authority.

24. An event, or gathering organiser of more than 100 persons at any licensed/ unlicensed place, should ensure segregation of waste at source and handing over of segregated waste to waste collector or agency, as specified by local authority.

25. Special provision for management of solid waste in hilly areas:- Construction of landfill on the hill shall be avoided. A transfer station at a suitable enclosed location shall be setup to collect residual waste from the processing facility and inert waste. Suitable land shall be identified in the plain areas, down the hill, within 25 kilometers for setting up sanitary landfill. The residual waste from the transfer station shall be disposed off at this sanitary landfill.

26. In case of non-availability of such land, efforts shall be made to set up regional sanitary landfill for the inert and residual waste.

(II) Municipal Solid Waste

With the ever increasing population and urbanization, the waste management has emerged as a huge challenge in the country. Not only the waste has increased in quantity, but the characteristics of waste have also changed tremendously over a period, with the introduction of so many new gadgets and equipment. It is estimated that about 62 million tonnes of waste is generated annually in the country, out of which 5.6 million is plastic waste, 0.17 million is biomedical waste. In addition, hazardous waste generation is 7.90 million TPA and 15 lakh tonne is e-waste. The per capita waste generation in Indian cities range from 200 grams to 600 grams per day (2011). 43 million TPA is collected, 11.9 million is treated and 31 million is dumped in landfill sites.

(III) Proper solid waste management

Scientific disposal of solid waste through segregation, collection and treatment and disposal in an environmentally sound manner minimises the adverse impact on the environment. The local authorities are responsible for the development of infrastructure for collection, storage, segregation, transportation, processing and disposal of MSW.

As per information available for 2013-14, compiled by CPCB, municipal authorities have so far only set up 553 compost & vermi-compost plants, 56 bio-methanation plants, 22 RDF plants and 13 Waste to Energy (W to E) plants in the country.

(IV) Problems of unscientific MSW disposal

Only about 75- 80% of the municipal waste gets collected and out of this only 22-28 % is processed and treated and remaining is disposed of indiscriminately at dump yards. It is projected that by the year 2031 the MSW generation shall increase to 165 million tonnes and to 436 million tons by 2050. If cities continue to dump the waste at present rate without treatment, it will need 1240 hectares of land per year and with projected generation of 165 million tons of waste by 2031, the requirement of setting up of land fil for 20 years of 10 meters height will require 66,000 hectares of land.

As per the Report of the Task Force of erstwhile Planning Commission, the untapped waste has a potential of generating 439 MW of power from 32,890 TPD of combustible wastes including Refused Derived Fuel (RDF), 1.3 million cubic metre of biogas per day, or 72 MW of electricity from biogas and 5.4 million metric tonnes of compost annually to support agriculture.

(V) Consultation process for new Solid Waste Rules

The draft Solid Waste Management Rules were published in June, 2015 inviting public objections and suggestions. Stakeholders consultation meets were organized in New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Consultative meetings with relevant Central Ministries, State Governments, State Pollution Control Boards and major hospitals were also held. The suggestions/objections (about 111) received were examined by the Working Group in the Ministry. Based on the recommendations of the Working Group, the Ministry has published the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

. I am indeed very happy to be present amidst you to present the National Geoscience Awards for the year 2014. This is an opportunity for us to honor individuals and teams of scientists for their outstanding achievements and contributions in the field of fundamental and applied geosciences, mining and allied areas. I congratulate all of you on your success and achievements.

The death of Pratyusha Bannerjee, best known for her performance in the seriel Balika Vadu, has left the entire Hindi entertainment industry shocked. While plenty of theories have been floating around - from depression, problems with her boyfriend, to family issues, among others, whatever may be the reason, Pratyusha joins a list of other such actors and actresses who have taken the extreme step of ending their lives, in an industry which looks glitzy and

Mumbai: Rupee gains by 7 paise to 66.13 against the dollar in early trade today on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters and banks ahead of Reserve Bank's first bi-monthly monetary policy meet for 2016-17.

Forex dealers said weakness in the dollar against other currencies overseas also supported the rupee but a lower opening of the domestic equity market capped the gains.

Ministry of Health and Family and Welfare will be celebrating a Health Week starting from today, to mark the World Health Day falling on 7th April 2016. During this week the Ministry will launch several initiatives including an awareness campaign on family planning. The Ministry will also

“The Central Government attaches a lot of importance to tertiary healthcare services and medical education. Our Government has announced the setting up of as many as 11 new AIIMS like institutions in various parts of the country”, stated Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare. He was speaking at the 6th convocation ceremony of PGIMER & Dr. Ram Manohar

In pursuance of the Notification of the Income Tax Returns (ITR) for AY 2016-17 on March 31st, 2016, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)announces the release of electronic filing of ITRs 1 and 4S on its websitehttps://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. Other ITRs will be e-enabled shortly.

Online filing of Appeal before Commissioner (Appeal) using newly notified Form 35 has been enabled for taxpayers mandated to E-file their returns using Digital Signature Certificate. Electronic Verification Code (EVC) option will be available shortly for other category of taxpayers. Reference may be made to Notification 11/2016 dated March 1, 2016 for the various categories of taxpayers required to file appeal online.

In pursuance of Notification No 93/2016 dated 16th Dec 2015, effective from 1April 2016, the following forms have been substituted by new forms and are now available for E-filing:

Form 15CA -payments to a non-resident not being a company, or to a foreign company,

Form 15CB-Certificate of an accountant,

Form 15CC -Quarterly statement

Vide Notification No 3/2016 dated 14th Jan 2016, CBDT had substituted with effect from 1 April 2016, Forms 9A (Application for exercise of option under clause (2) of the Explanation to sub-section (1) of section 11 of the Income tax Act, 1961) and Form 10 (Statement to be furnished to the Assessing Officer/Prescribed Authority under sub-section (2) of section 11 of the Income tax Act, 1961). These forms can be filed online using Digital Signature Certificate on the Income Tax Department’s e-filing website. EVC option will be available shortly.

In the context of the commitment of the Central Government to bring-out undisclosed money both from abroad and from within the country, information brought-out by any investigative journalism is welcome.

In the past also based on the investigative journalism of ICIJ in 2013 in which the links of 700 Indian persons were shown to have business connection with off-shore entities, the Revenue Department,

The Government of India have announced the Sale (re-issue) of (i) “7.68 per cent Government Stock 2023” for a notified amount of Rs. 3,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction, (ii) “7.59 per cent Government Stock 2026” for a notified amount of Rs. 8,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction, (iii) “7.73 per cent Government Stock 2034” for a notified amount of Rs. 2,000 crore (nominal) throughprice based auction, and (iv) “8.13 per cent Government Stock 2045” for a notified amount of Rs. 2,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction. The auctions will be conducted using multiple price method. The auctions will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai Office, Fort, Mumbai on April 07, 2016 (Thursday).

The Government has emphasized that the challenge presented by Climate Change can be mitigated by adopting latest technology for saving water and using water more efficiently. Speaking at the inaugural function of the 4th India Water Week here today, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar, said that the ferocity and frequency of erratic monsoons, untimely rains and more cycles of droughts and floods is being witnessed. The Environment Minister outlined eight initiatives taken by the Ministry that have started

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is organising the 22nd meeting of Brazil, South Africa, India and China, called the BASIC Group. The meeting is being organized in New Delhi on 6th and 7th April 2016. This is the first meeting of the BASIC Group, after the Paris Agreement was adopted in December 2015. The meeting is extremely relevant, as it will help to further consolidate the positions of the countries and secure the interests of developing countries,

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Gen Dalbir Singh, is embarking on a four day goodwill visit to USA from 05 to 08 Apr 2016. The visit assumes special significance in light of enhanced defence cooperation between the two countries. The visit is a part of the ongoing High Level Exchanges between India & USA.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) generated the 100thcrore Aadhaar on April 4, 2016, touching the landmark in a span of five-and-a-half years since the first Aadhaar was issued in 2010. This comes just a few days after a historic legislation Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits, and Services) Act 2016 has been notified by the Government.

The Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) will be jointly organizing the 2nd edition of the Global Exhibition on Services from 21-23 April 2016 at the IEC&M, Greater Noida.

GES 2016 will be inaugurated by Hon’ble President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, on April 20, 2016.

Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India is organising Farmers’ Fair and Agricultural Exhibition across the country at 583 KrishiVigyanKendras to create awareness among farmers about new Pradhan MantriFasalBeemaYojana. Till 03.04.2016, such fairs have been organised at 90 locations with participation of the Members of Parliament and Central Ministers including Minister of Home Affairs, Shri Raj Nath Singh Ji at Lucknow, Minister of Agriculture &

The industry is mourning the death of TV star, Pratyusha Banerjee. While everyone is still reeling under the shock, news of a superstar trying to commit suicide during her struggling days has surfaced. The superstar in question happens to be none other than desi girl, Priyanka Chopra, claims PC's ex-manager, Prakash Jaju.

With a parallel career in Bollywood and Hollywood, Priyanka Chopra is a renowned international star. The former Miss World has only impressed us with her acting chops over the years, garnering millions of followers from around the world. However, according to PC's ex-manager, Priyanka was very vulnerable during her struggling days. "PC may look very strong now but she was also very vulnerable in struggling days, tried to commit suicide 2-3 times but i managed to stop her," he tweeted.

Washington D.C.: Losing weight is hard enough. Keeping it off is even harder. Now, a team of researchers has found that most of us maintain our weight inconsistently, unless we shed a lot of kilos.

Lead author Joanna Huang from Novo Nordisk Inc. in Plainsboro, New Jersey, said that about two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese and the economic and health burdens of the obesity epidemic are substantial. Achieving and maintaining weight loss has proven to be difficult.

From film stars Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to corporates including DLF owner K P Singh and nine members of his family, and the promoters of Apollo Tyres and Indiabulls to Gautam Adani’s elder brother Vinod Adani.

Last year, it was Swiss Leaks, a global list with over 1,100 Indians with secret bank accounts in HSBC Geneva, which shaped the debate over black money parked overseas.

Now come The Panama Papers.

More than 11 million documents from the secret files of Mossack Fonseca, a law firm headquartered in tax haven Panama, known for its factory-like production of offshore companies for its worldwide clientele of the well-heeled.

These records reveal a list of individuals who have paid the firm — and bought the benefits of the secretive, lax regulatory system in which it operates — to set up offshore entities in tax havens around the world.

And Mossack Fonseca’s eagerness to meet their demands, each one for a fee, that helps mask real ownership but still show compliance.

Over 500 Indians figure on the firm’s list of offshore companies, foundations and trusts. There are also 234 Indian passports (handed over by clients as part of the incorporation process), an eight-month-long investigation of over 36,000 files by The Indian Express has revealed.